Experiential Learning in the Backcountry: a Balance of Fun, Learning, Self-Development

We live in a world increasingly dominated by social media, virtual reality, and artificial intelligence. So, when it comes to backcountry and wilderness expeditions, participants of all ages have an opportunity to learn and grow in fun, challenging real-world settings. 

Whether navigating rugged terrain, setting up a tent, or preparing a meal without the aid of modern appliances, participants in guided outdoor adventures are required to think critically, adapt quickly, reflect deeply, and collaborate closely with others. In this post, I explore how backcountry adventures serve as powerful catalysts for personal growth, leadership development, and environmental awareness.

Here at The National Center for Outdoor Adventure and Education (NCOAE), we offer guided outdoor expeditions that focus on creating profoundly empowering experiences for everyone involved. In the backdrop of a wilderness setting, we encourage participants —students on a summer teen leadership expedition or adults on one of our 21-day adult leadership expeditions — to challenge themselves to grow and expand upon their critical thinking, teamwork, and technical outdoor skills.

Most of our first-time participants have little to no experience in the backcountry, and that’s why our objective is not to turn them into avid backpackers, rock climbers, or paddlers. While our adventures often spark a new passion for these activities, our goal is to use the backcountry as a classroom that facilitates learning and personal or professional growth. 

Outdoor and adventure-based experiential education in the backcountry enables our course participants to learn, grow, and build self-confidence. And they do this by:

• Successfully navigating new challenges alone and in close collaboration with others
• Developing technical outdoor skills, such as navigating with a map and compass, setting up camp, preparing meals, providing wilderness first aid, and repairing gear
• Engaging in periods of self-reflection and gaining a more thorough understanding of their strengths and areas of potential growth
• Developing leadership skills and emotional intelligence to interact more effectively with others. These include clear communication (active listening and articulating one’s feelings/emotions), critical thinking, decision making, tuning into the needs of the community, managing stress, resolving conflict, and so on.

At NCOAE, we strive to create expeditionary experiences that provide just enough challenge to elicit a sense of accomplishment and build resilience, while not pushing participants to a point of feeling overwhelmed or frustrated. Learning — even when uncomfortable — should be fulfilling as well as fun. On NCOAE trips, this manifests itself in various ways, including:

• Planning routes with daily mileage that allows time for our technical outdoor skill and leadership lessons, as well as our trademark practices for reflection such as our “Summit”
• Intentionally facilitating students’ processing of their experiences and putting them well into the Experiential Learning Cycle, which is one of the core components of our Educational Framework
• Focusing on students planning how they intend to take what they are learning in the backcountry home to their daily lives and their families, schools, and communities
• Ensuring time each day for games, team building activities, rest and reflection, and conversations
• Providing food/meals in the backcountry that is not vastly different from what a student might eat at home, but modified for weight/packability/preparation in a backcountry setting

Our belief is that if every day on the trail or river is a brutal slog of frustration or overcoming pain, the outcomes we desire can be lost. For us, it’s not about a trip being difficult or easy. Instead, it’s all about finding that sweet spot that puts participants just far enough outside of their comfort zone to promote growth and a sense of accomplishment. But not so far outside that zone that they get discouraged or dread each day they spend in the wilderness. 

It is in this sweet spot that our students are fully engaged in learning. Through the process, they realize that being uncomfortable is a temporary condition that doesn’t necessarily threaten their safety, and that this temporary discomfort is a key factor in driving how good they feel about rising to meet a challenge.

If this sounds like the right approach to you, we encourage you to check out our adult expeditions, teen expeditions, or gap semester programs to find an outdoor expedition that’s best suited for you or your teen.

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About the Author: Cameron “Cam” Francisco, MEd, is the Associate Director of Outdoor Education at The National Center for Outdoor & Adventure Education (NCOAE). Prior to joining the team at NCOAE, Cam spent 19 years as an independent school educator and administrator. A member of the Association for Experiential Education (AEE), Cam is a certified Wilderness First Responder (WFR) and is certified in CPR by the Red Cross. His hobbies include fishing, soccer, skateboarding, hiking, and camping.

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